Winging it in West Kalimantan

Another Bomb Threat Hoax on Lion Air Results in Aircraft Evacuation and Injuries

The latest in a series of bomb hoax reports disrupting Indonesian domestic aviation operations, passengers sitting on a Lion Air aircraft preparing to take-off from Pontianak in West Kalimantan panicked, popped the emergency evacuation door, and climbed onto the wing of JT 687 on Monday, May 28, 2018.

Kompas.com reported that a passenger panicked and opened an emergency exit when he heard another passenger mention there was an unexploded bomb on board the aircraft

A spokesman for Lion Air, Danang Mandala Prijantoro, issued a written statement saying: “On the subject flight, a passenger screamed that there was a bomb on board, but this cannot be seen as a justification for opening an emergency exit.”

When the frightened passenger, without being ordered to do so by cabin crew, opened the emergency exit over the right-hand wing of the aircraft. Subsequently, a large number of passengers followed the man out the opening and onto the airplane’s wing. Because of this mishap, the plane’s departure from Pontianak to Jakarta was delayed.

Both the man who made the ill-timed joke about the bomb and the frightened man who opened the emergency exit were unable to join the delayed departure due to their apprehension and interviews by security authorities that followed the incident.

The man who screamed “bomb” has been identified only with the initial "F" is from Wamena, Papua and was returning home via Jakarta after finishing a college degree in Kalimantan.

Danang said Lion Air hoped that both men would be brought up on formal criminal charges for actions that endangered aviation safety.

In the course of the unauthorized evacuation of the aircraft, at least one passenger suffered injuries requiring hospital treatment after jumping from the wing to the tarmac.

At the time of the incident the aircraft has 189 people listed on its passenger manifest.